We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Janie Havemeyer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Janie, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
I read all the time. I am always curious about people, places and things. I find inspiration for writing my books from newspapers, magazines, interveiws, videos, social media, museum exhibitions and books. I might be reading or watching a video and all of sudden I’ll come across something I want to know more about. I will do more research and sometimes when I find out more, I develop an idea into a story for kids. I once read in a newspaper about a dog named Bud who was the first passenger to drive in a motorcar across America in 1903. I was so curious to find out more about this event. When I did, I decided to write a short story about it.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I write non-fiction books and biographies for kids. I’ve written stories for children as young as one to pre-teenagers. Some of my books happen because I have an idea for a story I want to tell. I write it and sell it to a publisher. I have a new picture book, Motorcycle Queen: The Life of Bessie Stringfield, illustrated by Jean Claverie, from Creative Editions, being released on August 13 2024. It tells the story of a remarkable woman who rode her motorcycle around the U.S. in the 1930’s. A woman riding a motorcycle back then was shocking, but one who traveled cross county and performed stunts on her bike was practically unheard of! I like telling stories about strong women of grit and determination. Other books I write are for the school and library market. For these types of book, I am asked by a publisher to write about a particular topic. These books are usually part of a series and I author one or more books in the series. Some of my favorite books to research and write in the school and library market are stories about trailblazers. I have written about Amelia Earhart crossing the Atlantic and Neil Armstrong landing on the Moon. I love learning new things. Once I become a “temporary expert” by doing research on a topic, I like the challenge of writing up what I learned in an engaging way for young readers. Books geared to different age groups present different challenges, like using simple words for younger readers while still making sure each story is engaging, surprising and fun.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
When I started writing, I worked on building my skills. I took classes, worked with writing mentors and kept doing the work of writing. It took me many years before my first book was published. It was sometimes very discouraging and I wondered if I would ever get published. But I kept wriiting and honing my craft. I loved writing, so I told myself that even if I never got published, this was what I wanted to do. There is a lot of rejection in this line of work. You can spend a year working on a manuscript and never sell it. I have a lot of stories I have written and never sold. So loving what you do is very important. It has powered me through times of self doubt and rejection. Perseverance has served me well too. Eventually I found publishing success. My first book gave me the confidence to keep going and through many years of patience and perseverance, more doors opened. When you achieve one goal, let’s say to publishing a book, there are always more goals on the horizon. I still have many wriing goals, like publishing more stories from my own store of ideas, and I still am keen to do the work.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
I have had wonderful mentors along the way who have helped me succeed. There is amazing power in making connections with people who can be mentors. Not only did they help me become a better writer, but they also intruduced me to opportunities and more people in the network. Two mentors come to mind who helped me get to where I am today. One was a children’s book author who believed in me and liked my writing. She helped me become a better writer by critiquing my drafts. She also introduced me to other people who might want to pubish my work. Another “mentor” is an editor who liked my writing, She reached out to me when she went to work for a new educational publisher. She gave me many opportunities to write the kind of books I always wanted to write for the school and library market. These mentor’s belief in my talent gave me confidence and helped me to believe I should continue to write and sell my own stories. I keep trying to do that!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.janiehavemeyer.com
- Instagram: @janiehavemeyerauthor
Image Credits
author photo is by Julian Pollak @julianpollakphotography
Motorcycle Queen cover is from illustrator Jean Claverie, Creative Editions, publisher.
Cover for WISHBONES, book published by The Child’s World (childsworld.com)
GoosbottomBooks (no longer in business) is the publisher of back cover of the book series, The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Dastardly Dames.
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.